The point of closing it was so I wouldn't be tempted to keep buying DVD's and Blurays adding to my library of stuff I built up. And it worked too I got to pay my credit card off slowly over time and when I was finished I felt like I could use it again for a few things, so I reopened the account. Anyways it may seem minor but it's bizarre because the first time I used a Chase Debit card (when I gave up thinking it was a glitch) and not theirs, I see no logical reason why someone that closed an account and reopened it would be flagged as potential FRAUD alert it makes really no sense especially given a year time difference. No I'm sorry this is just nutty.

Probably because the same card had previously been associated with a different account. Whether you appreciate it or not, these checks are there for your protection.

Indeed. Two years ago I was called by Visa directly.

They told me they were alerted by "an unexpected purshasing pattern". So, they explained that their computer system generated an alert because I used my credit card to buy for about $500 of stuff in several countries. Normally, my credit card was used for some Android apps costing $1 or so a piece, some sheet music costing $2, and the biggest purshase was a bunch of second hand CD's at Amazon for $15 or so.

Visa wanted to know: Have you still got your credit card? Did you really buy stuff for $500 in 4 countries? Should we block these purchases? After telling them "Yes, yes", and "no", and mentioning what they should be seeing over there (which was indeed correct), they wished me a nice evening, and never called afterward.

Having no experience with this, it was a bit of a "Huh?" moment, but afterward, I can definitely appreciate it. And yes, I would want and even expect Amazon to contact me if my credit card suddenly shows up in another account.

This happened to me just a few weeks ago. Chase closed the account immediately.

I got a call the next day from one of the retailers who the people who scammed my card made a purchase from. He told me that when a card gets scammed like this, the banks do not contact the retailers who the charges went to. If the retailer ships the goods, it's gone. The retailer gets hit with the chargeback, and the merchandise is lost to them. He then gave me the name and address that the merchandise was to have been shipped to. I contacted Chase and gave them this information, and then I contact the police in the town in NJ that the merchandise was to be shipped to. Hopefully they've caught these thieves. Maybe some of the retailers will get their merchandise back.

A week later, I got a message from Discover that someone (other than me) had purchased $100 worth from iTunes. Had to close that account, too.

I generally like the checks the banks perform on suspicious actions but sometimes it can go too far. I live in China, so I have to use a VPN constantly in order to get through the Chinese firewall to get things done. I discovered last year that my debit card had been frozen so I contacted the bank. They explained that they had suspended my account since my online banking had one day been accessed in China, then on the next day, San Francisco (the VPN server location). Once I explained to them that I needed to use a VPN, they agreed and told to come in to reset the account. I told them that I was in rural China and would not be back for another seven months so I was unable to reset the account. I could not make them understand that I was unable to come in to reset the account, as they kept on teling me how simple it was to reset. "Just come in to your local branch!" I told them that I would have my sister go in to reset the account, since it was a joint account that I set up for just this reason. If anything happened to it, my sister could deal with it in Canada. I then discovered that my sister can do everything on the account except for this.

After many phone calls, it was decided that every time I wanted to online bank, I would have to phone the bank and they would give me 10 minutes to complete my transactions. This went on for seven months.

When I finally got to Canada, I reset the account and told them to put my situation into their system so this kind of thing would not happen again. They said that cannot do this, that it was an automatic lock.

Like I said, I generally admire the efforts of checking on your accounts, but I would like some common sense involved as well, and not having things lock down automatically, especially if you explain to them the situation.

I generally like the checks the banks perform on suspicious actions but sometimes it can go too far. I live in China, so I have to use a VPN constantly in order to get through the Chinese firewall to get things done. I discovered last year that my debit card had been frozen so I contacted the bank. They explained that they had suspended my account since my online banking had one day been accessed in China, then on the next day, San Francisco (the VPN server location). Once I explained to them that I needed to use a VPN, they agreed and told to come in to reset the account. I told them that I was in rural China and would not be back for another seven months so I was unable to reset the account. I could not make them understand that I was unable to come in to reset the account, as they kept on teling me how simple it was to reset. "Just come in to your local branch!" I told them that I would have my sister go in to reset the account, since it was a joint account that I set up for just this reason. If anything happened to it, my sister could deal with it in Canada. I then discovered that my sister can do everything on the account except for this.

After many phone calls, it was decided that every time I wanted to online bank, I would have to phone the bank and they would give me 10 minutes to complete my transactions. This went on for seven months.

When I finally got to Canada, I reset the account and told them to put my situation into their system so this kind of thing would not happen again. They said that cannot do this, that it was an automatic lock.

Like I said, I generally admire the efforts of checking on your accounts, but I would like some common sense involved as well, and not having things lock down automatically, especially if you explain to them the situation.

You have to understand that it's a computer, the monitoring system that locks down the account, and it doesn't have common sense. And any human that may read notes on your file pertaining to the situation would have no way of knowing that it's you that's accessing your account or someone who has taken over your account.

How happy would you be when you have no money in your accounts because they *thought* it was you based on the notes on your account and unlocked it without speaking to you?

It's an unusual situation. It is not fun for you certainly but for security purposes it has to be that way. It's for your protection.

Has anyone ever proposed to you to do telephone banking instead of the computer? You'll be able to do the same things but over the phone and without your account being locked down. Call the number on the back of your card and ask about it. To me, that sounds like the better option for you. Unless of course you're wanting to print out documents but to pay bills and transfer funds, use telephone banking.

I understand their concern but what bothered me was the fact that they insisted that I show up in person to reset the account. They agreed it was me on the phone and I had confirmed with them the year before that if I set up a joint account with my sister, she could do any maintenance if required. It seemed like a very narrow and provincial view. When your customer is 6000 km away and won't be able to get to a branch for the next seven months, and you are sure of his identity, you should be flexible.

When your customer is 6000 km away and won't be able to get to a branch for the next seven months, and you are sure of his identity, you should be flexible.

There is no way around that. For your protection & security, there is no flexibility in that regard. They're not sure it's you. The only way to be sure is to show up in person, with photo ID and have you sign documentation to reset anything.